COLOMBO: India's quest to become the world's number one ODI team suffered a big jolt with opener Gautam Gambhir being ruled out of the tri-series on the eve of their opening match against New Zealand.
With the destructive Virender Sehwag and pace spearhead Zaheer Khan not in the team because of injuries, India has been further depleted with the in-form Gambhir joining the casualty list.
Gambhir will return home after straining his groin muscle during practice and has been advised rest for ten days. Young Dehi middle order batsman Virat Kohli has been named as his replacement.
The setback to Gambhir could not come at a more inopportune time and it will no doubt disturb the combination at the top of the order.
With the regular pair of Sehwag and Gambhir sidelined, the experienced Sachin Tendulkar and Dinesh Karthik, who has opened the innings in recent times, could take up the responsibility.
The brief series assumes importance for India as they are fully aware that a clean sweep in the tournament would make them the number one ODI team in the world.
The tag of the number of team will be the main goal for Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men who need to win both their league matches and the final to achieve the feat.
The BCCI Corporate trophy provided the Indian players a chance to shrug off the rust following a six-week break even though the fitness of the players were assessed during the off-season.
Despite the last-minute setback, the Indians are raring to get back onto the field and coach Gary Kirsten has already drawn up a road map for the team.
"We have set our targets as to what we have to achieve in the next eight months. Certainly, one of them is to become the best team in the world. We are heading that way and we are very excited on the way that we have gone about our business to get to that position," Kirsten said.
"We know that if we continue with as hard as we do in terms of our training and how we set our sights for games, we have the best chances of reaching there", he said.
If India win the two league matches and then the final, they will earn two rating points which is enough to topple South Africa who are currently on top of the table.
While the Indians appear to be quite confident, it will be a do-or-die battle for the Kiwis who were thrashed by the hosts in the opening match. A defeat against India will dash their hopes of a berth in the final.
But the Black Caps, who have been strengthened by the return of some of their ICL players like Shane Bond and Daryl Tuffey, are a dangerous One-day team and are quite capable of turning the table on any fancied team on their day.
TOI
With the destructive Virender Sehwag and pace spearhead Zaheer Khan not in the team because of injuries, India has been further depleted with the in-form Gambhir joining the casualty list.
Gambhir will return home after straining his groin muscle during practice and has been advised rest for ten days. Young Dehi middle order batsman Virat Kohli has been named as his replacement.
The setback to Gambhir could not come at a more inopportune time and it will no doubt disturb the combination at the top of the order.
With the regular pair of Sehwag and Gambhir sidelined, the experienced Sachin Tendulkar and Dinesh Karthik, who has opened the innings in recent times, could take up the responsibility.
The brief series assumes importance for India as they are fully aware that a clean sweep in the tournament would make them the number one ODI team in the world.
The tag of the number of team will be the main goal for Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men who need to win both their league matches and the final to achieve the feat.
The BCCI Corporate trophy provided the Indian players a chance to shrug off the rust following a six-week break even though the fitness of the players were assessed during the off-season.
Despite the last-minute setback, the Indians are raring to get back onto the field and coach Gary Kirsten has already drawn up a road map for the team.
"We have set our targets as to what we have to achieve in the next eight months. Certainly, one of them is to become the best team in the world. We are heading that way and we are very excited on the way that we have gone about our business to get to that position," Kirsten said.
"We know that if we continue with as hard as we do in terms of our training and how we set our sights for games, we have the best chances of reaching there", he said.
If India win the two league matches and then the final, they will earn two rating points which is enough to topple South Africa who are currently on top of the table.
While the Indians appear to be quite confident, it will be a do-or-die battle for the Kiwis who were thrashed by the hosts in the opening match. A defeat against India will dash their hopes of a berth in the final.
But the Black Caps, who have been strengthened by the return of some of their ICL players like Shane Bond and Daryl Tuffey, are a dangerous One-day team and are quite capable of turning the table on any fancied team on their day.
TOI
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